“Agreed.”
I expected her to complain about that, and now there’s nothing more for me to argue about without going round in circles. It’s getting dark and I really want to be outside. I stand, saying, “I’ll sleep on it.”
“Yes, it’s getting dark. Unpleasant in here at dusk. But I have a simple remedy. Nesbitt,” she calls, “bring the nightsmoke.”
Nesbitt goes to the far end of the room and fetches a bowl of milky liquid. He strikes a match above the surface of the potion and a green smoky flame slides across the creamy surface of the liquid, moving as if it was alive.
“If you inhale the fumes you’ll be able to stay indoors. It clears your head wonderfully.”
She leans over and breathes deeply.
I approach the flame. It smells of milk, grass, and forest. My headache is already receding. But I say, “I prefer sleeping outside.”
“I’m sure. I’m a Black Witch too, Nathan. Don’t forget that. I suffer as you do indoors at night, and Nesbitt does also, to a lesser degree. But we’ve learned to use the nightsmoke and I suggest you do too.”
*
Gabriel and I follow Nesbitt to the bedroom. I open the window and sit by it but Nesbitt says, “No cheating, mate, it’s for your own personal development.” He sets the bowl of nightsmoke down on the windowsill and closes the window. “Just breathe this as you would fresh air.”
After he leaves I sniff cautiously at the green smoke.
“Nathan,” Gabriel says, “you haven’t spoken to me about your Gift.”
I inhale a little more smoke. I know Gabriel’s probably the only person apart from my father who has any chance of understanding but I don’t want to think about it now. I’ve got enough on my mind.
“I take it from that gushing response that you don’t want to talk about it?”
I lie on my stomach on the bed with my head near the bowl and nod at it, saying, “Did you ever use this stuff?”
“No. When I had a Black Witch body I preferred to sleep outside or nap inside during the day and stay out at night.” He comes over and sniffs the vapor deeply. “It doesn’t do anything for me in this body. I can hardly smell anything.”
“What do you think about what Van said? Will this Alliance really work? Could they ever take on the Council and the Hunters?”
“I’m not sure. There are some Black Witches with incredible powers but working together isn’t their strong point. In fact working together is almost impossible. Van is unusually tolerant, so she might be able to work with Whites, but I’m not sure others will.”
I pass my hand through the green smoke and waft it up to my face. It’s a clean smell. In fact, it’s more than a smell: it’s a clean feeling in my nose and throat and head. It’s the feeling of being outside in a meadow. I’m not sure about the smoke, though—it’s a potion after all, a drug.
I open the window and sit on the ledge.
“I’ll sleep outside.”
Gabriel puts a towel over the basin. The flame goes out with a faint sigh. He says, “At the moment I’m not sure we need to worry about joining the Alliance. Mercury is more dangerous. She’s no fool, Nathan. She’s lethal.”
“If we plan carefully we have a chance. If it’s too risky we don’t do it.”
“However much you plan it can still go wrong. Read any history book.”
“You know I can’t read.”
There’s nothing more to say so I climb out of the window and walk toward the lake. I need to swim, to see if I can get in touch with my Gift and maybe sleep a little. I don’t need to think about Van’s proposal much. I know there’s no other option really. This is my only chance to help Gabriel recover his Gift and to save Annalise. I have to make it work.
Rain
It’s later that night. I’m swimming. Everything around me seems gray. It’s overcast and muggy. The moon is totally hidden. The far mountains are a dark outline against the dark sky. The lake water looks black. Inky.
I float on my back, looking at the sky. I think it must rain soon. The wind seems to be picking up a little and at that moment several things happen. I hit a patch of colder water, a crow calls one sharp cry, and a wave slaps the side of my face and the water goes in my eyes and up my nose. I close my eyes. Instead of seeing blackness, I see the forest above the cave and I know Kieran is with me. I can’t see him—he’s invisible—but I can smell him, feel him, and I can taste his blood. My leg is on fire, a knife stuck in it. I rip my jaws at Kieran and he appears, and my eyes are filled with black inky liquid; the blood from his throat is up my nostrils. Kieran makes one last cry, like the cry of a crow, and then he’s still. The vision lasts a few seconds but it’s clear to me. It’s not a dream: it’s a memory.